A Single Second

Sequel to my short story "The Same Explorer", written in high school

 

            “Kameron, come on. We don’t have time to play in the door all day.” I grabbed Kameron’s small hand and pulled him out of the rotating door.

“Ah, dad! That was fun. Can we get a door like that?” he said, pulling against my grip.

“No, Kam, those are only for hotels and fancy buildings.” I dragged him through the lobby. His little nikes stomped against the floor.

“Why do we have to stay in a hotel anyway?” he asked.

“Because daddy has to come here for business, you know that. Mommy will meet us at our room later today when she gets off work.” I looked back at him as I still pulled him along. His wondering eyes explored the building and watched people as they passed. I wondered if he were even listening. “Did you know that this is the city that daddy grew up in?”

 He answered with a quick, uninterested no.

“Yep…lot of memories in this place.” I said, more to myself than to my four-year-old-boy. Driving through the city was like opening a scrapbook or old photo album. Memories were flying through my mind like feathers in a fan room.

            “Hi, I’m Morgan Concord. I reserved a room for tonight and tomorrow night.” I said to the lady at the front desk.

“Alright, Mr. Concord, let me just load you up on the computers.” She smiled, then turned her attention to her computer.

 “Thank you,” I said. I looked down at Kameron. “You packed your swimsuit, didn’t you?”

He looked at me like I just tried to convince him that the sky was blue. “Of course I did, Dad.” He patted his backpack and rolled his eyes.

I laughed softly and turned back to the lady at the desk. I drummed my hands on the desktop as I waited. I wish I had gotten rid of that habit long ago, because it was the reason it all came back again.

            “Morgan? Morgan Concord?” A voice said. A voice I swear I fell in love with once. I turned to my left and saw a woman standing at the lane next to me. She had an inquisitive look on her face.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I looked back at her confused. Finally I realized who she was. “Beth?” I said. She smiled. “Bethanie Randall?” She smiled even more.

“Morgan! It’s so good to see you! I knew I recognized that obnoxious hand drumming from somewhere.” She said holding out her hand. I quickly wiped my hand from sweat on my slacks and held it out for her to shake. I hope she didn’t feel the trembling. “How are you?” she asked again. I faked a smile. The feeling I haven’t felt in so long came back to me. Those eyes stared back at me and my heart felt old again, and new at the same time. I kept staring, finally realizing I hadn’t responded to her question.

“I’m great! How have you been?” I finally got words out. Rhetorical questions are always the best way to go in awkward situations.

“I’ve been wonderful. How long has it been? Ten…eleven years?” she asked as our hands released. The touch I used to love left my finger tips. It wasn’t the first time.

“Let’s see…yeah, almost eleven years.” I looked down at Kameron. He looked at me with a bit of confusion on his face.

“Oh my, is this yours?” Beth asked as she bent down to Kameron’s level.

“Yep, this is Kameron,” I said, still watching her. I turned my head to my boy. “Kam, this is Bethanie. She was…” I paused on the title I was supposed to give her. “She was a friend of mine when I lived here.” I looked back at Beth.

“My goodness! Look how cute you are.” Beth said. Kameron slipped a bashful smile.

“How old are you, Kameron?”

“I’m four!” he held up his fingers showing the number.

“Wow! My little Anna would love you,” she said as she stood back up.

“Anna?” I asked.

“My daughter, She’s just your age,” she said as she touched Kameron’s nose. He wrapped his arms around my leg. “How many do you have?” She asked, a question that hit me at an odd angle.

“Kameron’s our only right now, but Shannon and I have another on the way,” I answered. I stared back at her. She seemed to keep a smile.

“Shannon? Your wife?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s her.” Isaid.

“Is she here?”

“No, she’s meeting us later.” Her eyes stayed on me. My heart tied itself in knots. No way in a million years would I believe that the feeling was possible. Describing it is like nailing Jello to a tree. She hadn’t changed a bit. Of course, in actuality she had, but to me she hadn’t. The way she was when I knew her, everything about her was the same. I lowered my head as I always do when I’m nervous.

The lady at the front desk handed Beth her extra keys. 

“Hey, well it’s nice seeing you again. I hope everything’s going all right,” she said to me as she took her keys from the desk.

“Yeah, you too.” Those were the only words I could get out at the moment.

“Maybe I’ll see you around, you take care,” she said turning to walk away, but keeping her head facing me.

“Take care, Beth. Bye,” I said to her, lifting my hand as a pathetic wave.

“Bye, Kameron,” she said, finally, and then turned around and walked away from me for the second time.

I watched her walk down the lobby. My eyes blurred, my vision with it. The memory of the town was hard enough, but seeing her opened the tear I just finished sewing. Hearing her voice dropped the heart I had just picked up. Seeing her face and looking into her eyes brought back the feeling I had forced myself to forget. It took me years, and took so much, but I forgot it, and it all was brought back in that single second.

“Alright, Mr. Concord, here are your keys. Your room number is 307, on the third floor. Your check out time will be noon on Friday.”

I turned my attention back to the lady at the front desk. She handed me the keys and I took Kameron’s hand. We walked to the elevator. Now Kameron was dragging me by the hand. My feet skidded across the floor.

“I wanna push the elevator button!” Kameron shouted.

“Of course! It’s what you love to do,” I said. He looked up at me. I forced a smile. We boarded the elevator. “The three…push the three.” I told Kameron. I watched him hit the number three on the dial. “There ya go. Good job!” I lifted my head and stared straight forward. I could feel the tears still swelling in my eyes. I fought them from falling down my face, but couldn’t prevent them from being visible in my eyes.

“Daddy? Why are you crying?” Kameron asked with concern.

I looked down at him and smiled. “I’m not crying, bud…daddy’s eyes are just tired.” He looked at me with skepticism. “Hey, how about when we get to the room, we watch a movie on the T.V. and order room service. By the time the movie’s over, mommy will be here. How does that sound?”

Kameron’s face lit up. “Ok. If I can choose the movie,” he said with a tone of negotiation.

“Of course you can. You always pick the best.” I rubbed my thumb against his small hand. He faced forward, still smiling. The elevator opened, and we stepped out. Kameron and I went to our room, watched a movie, and waited for mommy.